Jordan: New PM named

Published December 9th, 2009 - 16:05 GMT

Jordan's King Abdullah II named former royal court minister Samir Rifai as new prime minister in a royal decree on Wednesday following the resignation

Jordan's King Abdullah II named former royal court minister Samir Rifai as new prime minister in a royal decree on Wednesday following the resignation of Nader Dahabi's government. The move follows the dissolution of the lower house of parliament late last month and instructions by the monarch to reform the electoral process and amend the kingdom's election law.

In the past, Rifai assumed the post of Jordan Dubai Capital (JDC) CEO. He was the minister of the Royal Court in 2003.

Earlier in the day, Reuters reported Abdullah asked his palace aide Nasser Lozi to form a new cabinet to push forward economic reforms before parliamentary elections later next year.

The outgoing PM Dahabi was named as prime minister in November 2007, presiding over a cabinet of 27 ministers.